What to See and Do in Opatija

During my winter trip to Croatia last year, I had the chance to pass by the beautiful city of Opatija on my way to Pula. I didn't have enough time to visit it then, but I knew I wanted to go back there to walk on those enchantingly glamorous streets!

Opatija is the city with the oldest tourism tradition in Croatia. It used to be the place where the aristocracy from the Austro-Hungarian empire retired for their vacations in both winter and summer seasons because of the nice and mild weather. Therefore, this city was called "the Austrian Nice" and it totally has that opulent and glamorous south of France vibe!

All those summer houses and villas that the Austrian aristocracy had in the region have now become luxury hotels with very interesting spas and wellness centers and they also have the most Instagram perfect café terraces you can imagine! So, this city was very high on my priority list when I decided to go back to Croatia last summer.

My plan was to stay in the nearby city of Rijeka and from there to explore the region of Kvarner, including of course Opatija! I didn't decide to stay in Opatija because of my budget mainly because as most of the hotels there are very luxurious I knew it was going to be a little too expensive for me, but that didn't stop me from enjoying this amazing place!

How to get there? 

If you are staying in Rijeka, like I did, it's very easy to get to Opatija, just by taking the bus! You can take bus number 32, from Rijeka's city center and that will leave you in the center of Opatija in more or less 30 minutes. I can't tell you enough how much I have enjoyed those bus rides! The landscape of the Adriatic coast is absolutely stunning! So make sure to get a window on the bus ;)

What to do on a day trip to Opatija?

Well, apart from taking tons of pictures, I highly recommend that you walk along the Lungomare promenade. It's a 12km walk along the coast from Preluka to Lovran and it connects all the different cities and beaches. It's not necessary that you complete the 12km but it's a very enjoyable walk for sure! 

In the center of Opatija, you can find the Maiden with the Seagull sculpture, which is a symbol of the city and I find it to be a very romantic spot! It's the perfect place to take a pause from walking and sit to enjoy the sea view. 

Another of my favorite spots in Opatija was definitely Villa Angiolina, which was one of the first tourist resorts in the city! It was built in 1844 and renovated in the year 2000. Now it operates as the Museum of Croatian tourism. Even if you don't enter the museum, the building itself is absolutely beautiful and worth the visit! 

Very close to this, you can find the Park of St. Jacob and Park Angiolina, which are two very popular parks that are filled with plant species from all over the world! These parks are stunning and the perfect place to get tons of amazing pictures for your Instagram ;)

Then I would also recommend you to visit Hotel Kvarner, this was the first luxury hotel built in the city and the Adriatic region. This building, which was built in 1884, is so impressive and beautiful that will for sure make you dream and imagine the life of these aristocratic people that came here at that time! I fell in love with the beautiful terrace it has and when I visited I also bought an Ice Cream there, which was absolutely delicious!

A sneak peak of the terrace

It got super cloudy in the afternoon that day

Last but not the least, I encourage you to walk as much as you can here because you will find a lot of charming café terraces, stunning hotel buildings, restaurants and cute places that will make you fall in love with this city!  

Hope you like this guide and I would love to know if you have visited Opatija or if you have heard about this place? :)